Intelligent pneumatics drives predictive maintenance forward

13 April, 2017

During the 2017 Hannover Messe, Aventics will present information on the topic of predictive maintenance at a special exhibition space of the same name.

In hall 19, the pneumatics specialist will show how intelligent pneumatics can anticipate system maintenance. For this, Aventics uses already available sensors and the new Smart Pneumatics Monitor, the company’s first IoT device.

Parallel to its own stand in hall 23 with a complete Internet of Things arena, Aventics will present another exhibit in hall 19 of the Hannover Messe in the special predictive maintenance area. Under the motto ‘Smart Pneumatics: The Driver for Predictive Maintenance’, Aventics will showcase an application example; the monitoring of shock absorber functions and cylinder speeds based on an electro-pneumatic valve system.

The existing sensors in the system are monitored along with the control. The data is analysed with the AV/AES series valve systems and the Smart Pneumatics Monitor, an additional module for the AES valve electronics. Monitoring the load allows the system to determine the current state of the shock absorber and detect wear early on. The information is then provided to the user in standardized data logs, such as the OPC-UA.

The company Boge will also demonstrate how intelligent pneumatics can ensure efficient system operation at its stand. Using existing sensors, Aventics provides the compressor manufacturer with information on the current state of its systems and their air consumption in the standard OPC-UA data format. This allows Boge to optimize the entire compressed air mains of a system and to operate it more efficiently. The application is also on display in hall 19.

Forward-looking maintenance

“The advantages of predictive maintenance are nothing new to us,” said Dieter Michalkowski, IoT expert at Aventics. “But the IoT has now made it possible to generate the information required for predictive maintenance that really lives up to its name.”

Preventive maintenance with intelligent data analyses is now considered an important value driver in the industrial sector as it can prevent unplanned machine downtime and increase system availability. In addition, maintenance costs are reduced since only the components that have reached the end of their life cycle are exchanged.

Based on the relevance of predictive maintenance for IoT environments, the exhibition organizers have again given the topic its own exhibit area in 2017. The special exhibit will take place as part of the “Motion, Drive & Automation” (MDA) trade fair, which focuses on drive and fluid technologies within the context of the Internet of Things. Companies already using maintenance systems today will present on the special space, measuring around 500 square meters.

The special exhibition also includes lectures arranged by the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA). Michalkowski will give a lecture on ‘Predictive Maintenance – A Direct Benefit of the Internet of Things’ on Wednesday 26 April, from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. This lecture will be held in the MDA Forum in hall 19, stand C49.